Child seat device

ABSTRACT

The invention concerns a child seat device, in particular for securing a child in a motor vehicle, on land, sea and in the air, comprising seat and back portions with outer shells ( 1, 2 ) and inner inflatable cushions ( 3, 4 ), and side portions ( 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 9′, 10 ) extending out-/inwards, preferably at right angles, relative to the seat and back portions. Further, the seat and back portions ( 1, 2, 3, 4 ) are pivoted to each other, and the side portions ( 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 9′, 10 ) are pivoted to the respective ones of the seat and back portions, so that whenever required, the child seat can be folded up completely for storing when the cushions ( 3, 4, 7, 8, 10 ) are deflated.

[0001] The present invention concerns a child seat device, in particularfor securing a child in a motor vehicle on land, sea and in the air,comprising seat and back portions, and side portions which extend,preferably at right angles, outward relative to the seat and backportions, at least the seat portion having an outer shell and an innerinflatable cushion.

[0002] Today it is quite normal that infants are secured in motorvehicles by means of different types of child seats which areappropriately secured in the vehicle. On the other hand, since suchchild seats are space demanding, they will, when the child seat is notused to secure a child, occupy relatively a large portion of the spacewhen stored in the boot of the vehicle.

[0003] In NO-C 166398 the above-mentioned defect is remedied in the waythat the child seat comprises inflatable parts. Thereby the spacerequirement during storage can be reduced considerably in that the airis let out of the inflatable parts. An essential defect of the childseat, which is known from this publication, is, however, that neitherthe back portion nor the side portions extending outward from the seatand back portions, have outer shells of a rigid material, which isnormally expected from such child seats. Therefore, the known child seatis hardly capable of providing adequate protection of the child in allsituations that may occur, e.g. in a collision.

[0004] An object of the present invention is thus to provide a childseat which can be folded together completely, and which, moreover,provides the intended protection for the child in the child seat whenthe seat is unfolded. Another object is that safe and stable storage ofa belt buckle of the separate seat belt of the child seat should bepossible in the child seat. Other objects are that the collapsing andinflating of the child seat should be done in a simple manner, while, atthe same time, the folded child seat should occupy the smallest possiblespace when stored.

[0005] The above objects are realized according to the invention, asspecified in the characterizing part of the first of the two presentindependent Claims, in the way that the seat and back portions arepivoted to one another, and that the seat portions are pivoted to atleast one of the seat and back portions, so that whenever required, thechild seat can be folded up when the cushions are deflated.Additionally, as further specified by the characterizing part of thesecond of the two present independent Claims, in the way that the seatand back portions are pivoted to one another, that the side portions areattached, e.g. pivotally, to at least one of the seat and back portions,so that, whenever required, the child seat can be folded up when one ormore of the cushions are deflated, and that the child seat comprises aseat belt for the child, the belt buckle of the seat belt beingplaceable in the seat portion.

[0006] In accordance with preferred embodiments of the invention, theside portions are either two-part or in one single piece. Moreover, thechild seat is fixed in its unfolded position of use by means of alocking pin, which is releasably arranged in the two side portion parts,or a locking element which is releasably arranged in the back portion.Other advantageous features of the invention will be understood from theClaims and otherwise from the description.

[0007] Referring to the appended drawings, preferred embodiments of theinvention will be explained in further detail in the following part ofthe description,

[0008]FIG. 1 showing a perspective view of an embodiment which comprisesseat and back portions, and two-part side portions which extend outwardfrom the seat and back portions, each portion of the child seatcomprising an outer shell and an inner cushion, the portions of thechild seat being pivoted to each other in such a way that the child seatcan be folded up completely when the cushions are deflated, and thechild seat being held fixed in its unfolded position of use by means ofa locking pin, which is releasably arranged in the side portion;

[0009]FIG. 2 showing a view of the child seat, the child seat vieweddirectly towards the side portion;

[0010]FIG. 3 showing a detail view of a section through the locking pinat the drawn line A-A in FIG. 2;

[0011]FIG. 4 showing a view of the child seat which is folded up, thechild seat viewed directly towards the side portion;

[0012]FIG. 5 showing the same as FIG. 4, the child seat being vieweddirectly towards the seat portion;

[0013]FIG. 6 showing a view of a further embodiment, the child seatviewed directly towards one of the side portions, the side portion notbeing split, and the child seat being held fixed in its unfoldedposition of use by means of a locking element which is releasablyarranged in the back portion;

[0014]FIG. 7 showing the same as FIG. 6, the child seat viewed directlytowards the opposite side portion;

[0015]FIG. 8 showing a view of the child seat of FIG. 6, the child seatviewed directly towards the back portion;

[0016]FIG. 9 showing a view of the child seat of FIG. 6, the child seatbeing folded up and the child seat being viewed directly towards theside portion; and

[0017]FIG. 10 showing a perspective view of yet another embodiment ofthe present invention, a belt buckle of the seat belt of the child seatbeing placed in the seat portion.

[0018] The child seat in accordance with the present invention isintended, as already mentioned, especially for use in the securing ofchildren in motor vehicles, but of course the child seat may be used inany connection in which, especially during transport, a safe keeping ofthe child is required. The respective portions of the child seatcomprise an outer rigid shell and inner inflatable cushions facing thechild. The cushions are inflated when the seat is used, and deflatedbefore the child seat is to be folded up to be stored. Additionally itwill be understood that the child seat must be produced from materialswhich will provide adequate protection for the child.

[0019] In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-5 the seat and back portionseach have an outer shell 1, 2 and an inner inflatable cushion 3, 4. Theseat and back portions 1, 2 are pivoted to one another at the terminaledges abutting one another. This may be effected by means of anysuitable connection formed in the outer shells 1, 2, e.g. a pin andsleeve connection.

[0020] Further the child seat has side portions 5, 6, 7, 8 which extendoutward, preferably at right angles relative to the seat and backportions, when the seat is unfolded. As shown, the side portions aresplit in two, and the two side portion parts have outer shells 5, 6 andinner inflatable cushions 7, 8. Similarly to the seat and back portions,the side portion parts are pivotal with one part attached to the seatportion 1, 3 and the other part attached to the back portion 2, 4. Theside portions can be pivoted to the seat and back portions in anysuitable manner that allows the side portions, when all the cushionshave been deflated, to be pivoted outwards from the seat and backportions, e.g. a pin and sleeve connection.

[0021] The child seat is retained in its unfolded position of use bymeans of a locking pin 11, which is releasably arranged in regions ofthe shells 5, 6 of the side portion parts, which overlap when the childseat is unfolded. As shown in FIG. 3, one of the side portion shells 5has a slot 21 which is adapted for enclosing a narrower portion 22 ofthe other side portion shell 6. The locking pin 11 is positioned in abore 23 formed in the shells 5, 6 and is retained in its lockingposition by means of a compression spring 24.

[0022] When the child seat is to be folded up, the locking pin 11 ispulled outwards in the bore 23 until the locking pin 11 clears thenarrower shell portion 22, which allows the seat and back portions to bepivoted outwards relative to one another at least until the narrowerportion 22 and the slot 21 are pulled apart completely. Then the sideportion parts may be pivoted outwards until they are flush with therespective ones of the seat and back portions. The folding up of thechild seat is completed in that the seat and back portions are pivotedtowards one another until, as shown in FIGS. 4-5, they fold up againsteach other completely. The child seat is brought into its unfoldedposition in that the above procedure is carried out in reverse order. Asalready mentioned, the cushions 3, 4, 7, 8, 10 are deflated before/atthe same time as the folding up is commenced, and are filled with airwhen the child seat is unfolded.

[0023] At the seat portion 1, 3, to allow adjustment of the seat angleof the child seat, the shell 5 of the side portion part comprises aspacer 13 pointing downwards from the seat portion and normally standingon the seat of the vehicle. The spacer 13 is placed at the pivotal jointof the side portion part 5, 7 and is shown as a fixed piece. Of course,this last point does not prevent the spacer 13 from being madeadjustable in a suitable manner by means of e.g. two pieces that may bedisplaced and fixed in the desired position relative to one another.

[0024] The cushions 3, 4, 7, 8 can be inflated by means of a pump 14which is shown integrated in the seat portion 1, 3, but the pump 14 may,when required, be positioned at a different point in the child seat.Further the cushions are connected to each other in an appropriatemanner not shown, in order thereby to provide for the air to reach allthe cushions during inflation. The air is let out of the cushionsthrough for example at least one valve, which is not shown either.

[0025] The child seat may be secured by means of either a seat belt orstandardized securing points in the vehicle. In the former case the seatbelt is passed through slots 15, 16, 17, 18 formed in the respectiveshells of the child seat, and in the latter case through at least twosecuring elements 19 which are formed rearwards in the extension of theseat portion 1, 3.

[0026] The second embodiment of the child seat, which is shown in FIGS.6-9, corresponds in most points to the first embodiment which is shownin FIGS. 1-5. The difference consists in the side portions 9, 9′ withassociated cushions 10 not being split in two, but being in the form ofone single piece, the child seat being maintained in its unfoldedposition of use by means of a locking element, which is releasablyarranged in the back portion 2, 4, and the side portions 9, 9′, 10 beingpivoted inwards towards the seat portion 1, 3 in the folding up.

[0027] To provide for the side portions 9, 9′, 10 to be pivoted inwardsin the folding, the pivots 28′ for the respective side portions 9, 9′,10, as shown in FIGS. 6-8, are positioned at different heights relativeto the seat portion 1, 3. Further, the seat portion shell 1 comprises afixed portion 28, which extends upwards towards the shell 2 of the backportion at an angle of approximately 90 degrees, so that the pivot 29 ofthe seat and back portions are above the pivot 28′ of the side portions.

[0028] In the latter embodiment the child seat is held fixed in itsunfolded position of use by means of a locking element 12, which isreleasably arranged in a groove 31 formed in the shell 2 of the backportion. The locking element 12 is positioned at the edge of the sideportion shell 9 and made pivotal in a suitable manner, e.g. through apin and sleeve connection. Similarly, when the child seat is unfolded,the locking element 12 is retained in the locking groove 31 by means ofa not shown compression spring, for example, so that when the child seatis to be folded up, the locking element 12 can be pivoted out of thelocking groove 31 against the spring force.

[0029] The child seat is shown with a seat's separate seat belt 20 and ahead restraint 26. The securing points 25 for the seat's seat belt 20are shown in FIG. 5. The head restraint 26 is arranged fixed ordisplaceable in a support 27, which is shown e.g. in FIG. 2, and has anouter shell and an inner portion of soft material. In FIG. 10 is shown,moreover, how a belt buckle 32 of the seat's seat belt 20 can be placedand retained in the seat portion 1, 3. This is done by means of aparticular recess 33, which is formed in the seat portion shell 1,whereas the seat portion cushion 3 has a corresponding recess 34. Itshould be understood that the embodiment according to FIGS. 6-9 with theundivided side portions may be equipped correspondingly.

1. A foldable seat device, in particular for the securing of a child ina motor vehicle, comprising of seat portions having outer rigid elements(1, 2, 5, 6; 9, 9′) and inner preferably inflatable elements (3, 4, 7,8; 10), the seat base portion (1, 3) being pivotally connected to theseat back portion (2, 4), and the seat side portions (5, 6; 9, 9′, 10)being pivotally connected to the seat base portion (1, 3) and the seatback portion (2, 4), or the seat base portion (1, 3), respectively, andthe seat side portions (5, 6, 7, 8; 9, 9′, 10) extendingoutwards/inwards relative to the seat base (1, 3) and back portion (2,4), preferably at right angles, characterized in that the preferablyinflatable seat comprises of a releasable locking mechanism (11, 21, 22,23, 24; 12, 31) arranged between each of the rigid seat side elements(5, 6), or between the rigid seat side element (9, 9′) and the rigidseat back element (4), respectively, thereby allowing, when unfolded,the seat base portion (1, 3) and the seat back portion (2, 4) to beretained in a stable position.
 2. A foldable seat device according toclaim 1, characterized in that the seat side portions (5, 6, 7, 8) areformed in two parts, having rigid seat side elements (5, 6) pivotallyconnected to the rigid seat base element (1) and the rigid seat backelement (2), respectively, the rigid seat side elements (5, 6) beingarranged, when unfolded, in an overlapping relationship to one anotherand locked by means of a releasable locking pin (11) extendingtherethrough, whereby the seat portions are retained in form stablepositions relatively to one another.
 3. A foldable seat device accordingto claim 2, characterized in that one of the rigid seat side elements(5) is provided with a slot (21) adapted, when unfolded, to receive anarrower part (22) formed in the other rigid seat side element (6), eachhaving a bore (23) therethrough adapted to receive the locking pin (11).4. A foldable seat device according to claim 3, characterized in thatthe locking pin (11) is self-tensioned and is secured in the lockingposition by means of a spring (24).
 5. A foldable seat device accordingto claim 1, characterized in that the seat side portions (9, 9′, 10) areformed in one part, having a rigid element (9, 9′) pivotally connectedto the rigid seat base element (1), and comprises a releasable lockingelement (12) adapted, when unfolded, to be received by a locking groove(31) formed in the rigid seat back element (2), whereby the seatportions are retained in stable positions relatively to one another. 6.A foldable seat device according to claim 5, characterized in thatlocking element (12) is self-tensioned and is secured in the lockingposition by means of a spring.
 7. A foldable seat device according toany of the preceding claims, characterized in that the seat devicecomprises a seat belt (20) for the child, of which the belt buckle (32),when not used, can be secured in a recess (33, 34) arranged in the seatbase portion (1, 3).
 8. A foldable seat device according to claim 7,characterized in that the belt buckle recess comprises a first recess(33) formed in the rigid seat base element (1) and a complementaryrecess (34) formed in the preferably inflatable seat base element (3),thereby allowing the belt buckle (32) to be secured.